The Prince and the Pilgrim
![]() First UK edition | |
Author | Mary Stewart |
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Language | English |
Series | Arthurian Saga |
Genre | Fantasy novel |
Publisher | Hodder & Stoughton (UK) William Morrow (US) |
Publication date | 1995 |
Publication place | United Kingdom |
Media type | Print Hardback |
Pages | 292 pages |
ISBN | 0-340-64992-5 |
OCLC | 34002715 |
Preceded by | The Wicked Day |
The Prince and the Pilgrim is a 1995 fantasy novel by Mary Stewart. It is a stand-alone novel, has an oblique reference to King Arthur, and is not a part of Stewart's Merlin Trilogy. It marked Stewart's return to the Arthurian genre a decade after her last book on the subject.[1]
Plot
The Prince, the protagonist, is named Alexander. His father, Prince Baudouin, is murdered by the king of Cornwall, King March. When Alexander comes of age, he sets out to Camelot to seek justice from King Arthur and to avenge his father's death.
The Pilgrim is named Alice. She rescues a young French nobleman who has in his possession an enchanted silver cup. The chalice may be the mysterious and much-sought-after Holy Grail.[2]
Prince Alexander is diverted in his quest by the enchantments of Morgan le Fay, the seductive but evil sorceress. She persuades him to attempt a theft of the cup so that she can gain power over King Arthur and his court. Alexander's search for the mysterious cup leads him to Alice. Together the prince and the pilgrim find what they have really been seeking: love.
The tale is a self-contained novel taking place during Arthur's reign (possibly during the events in The Last Enchantment), and does not continue the story of The Wicked Day. It covers the time before Merlin the Enchanter's defeat.
Author
Stewart is best known for her Merlin series, which is based on a number of other stories including T. H. White's The Once and Future King Other books on the topic on which she may have drawn include:
- Culhwch and Olwen, anonymous c 1100
- L'Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Malory (1485)
Release
![]() | This section needs to be updated.(December 2021) |
- 1995, Great Britain. Hodder & Stoughton (ISBN 0-340-64992-5). Publication date November 1995. Hardcover.
- 1996, USA. William Morrow and Company (ISBN 0-6881-4538-8). Publication date January 1996. Hardcover.
- 1997, USA. Ballantine/Fawcett Crest (ISBN 0-449-22443-0). Publication date April 1997. Paperback.
References
- ^ Keith Busby, ed. (2001). Arthurian Literature XVIII. D.S. Brewer. p. 247. ISBN 9780859916172.
- ^ Dhira B. Mahoney, ed. (2014). The Grail: A Casebook. Taylor & Francis. p. 549. ISBN 9781317947257.
External links
- Articles with short description
- Short description is different from Wikidata
- Use dmy dates from April 2022
- Wikipedia articles in need of updating from December 2021
- All Wikipedia articles in need of updating
- Articles with Internet Archive links
- 1995 British novels
- Modern Arthurian fiction
- American fantasy novels
- Novels set in sub-Roman Britain
- Novels by Mary Stewart
- Fictional princes
- Hodder & Stoughton books
- All stub articles
- 1990s fantasy novel stubs